Papel Machete
San Juan, PR
Papel Machete is a radical theater and puppetry collective that produces and performs original work throughout the Puerto Rico and the US. The collective started on May 1, 2006 during the government shutdown, in response to the economic and political crisis generated by the status of Puerto Rico as a colony of the US. Since then, they have established a body of work inspired by a commonly shared aesthetic and values. Using papier mâché as a medium, Papel Machete explores a wide range of artforms and styles including toy theater, cantastorias, shadow theater, table-top puppetry, masks, performing objects and giant puppets. Papel Machete has brought theater to new audiences and venues to denounce exploitation, build solidarity, and agitate for action in the struggles of frontline communities. They are co-founders and part of the organizing committee of Titeretada, a yearly independent puppetry festival in Puerto Rico.
Photo: Tina Orlandini
Performance still of End the Debt! Decolonize! Liberate Puerto Rico! Photo: Javier Maldonado-OFarrill and Tina Orlandini.
Performance still of Farsantes del Martes Grueso. Photo: Ricardo Alcaraz and Tina Orlandini.
Performance still of If All Lives Matter ‘Cause We’re All Created Equal, Why Are Some Lives More Equal Than Others in Brooklyn, NYC. Photo: Erik McGregor and Tina Orlandini.
Performance still from La Operación, an episode from a longer play called Episodios de Genocidio Boricua y otros Relatos Deshumanizantes. Photo: José Jiménez Tirado and Tina Orlandini.
Image of Madre Tierra Giant Puppet during the People’s Climate March in Manhattan, NYC, 2014. Photo: Osvaldo Budet Meléndez and Tina Orlandini.
Performance video of La Operación: Episodios de Genocidio Boricua y otros Relatos Deshumanizantes.
Video clips from End the Debt! Decolonize! Liberate Puerto Rico!
Performance video of 1ero Mayo 2018.
Papel Machete in Mujeres en Marcha, 2019.
On the Eve of Abolition
Papel Machete is a radical theater and puppetry collective that produces and performs original work throughout the Puerto Rico and the US.
Artist BioPapel Machete proposes a bilingual play in Spanish and English that tells the speculative fiction story of the last prison in the U.S. Using letters from incarcerated people, prison radio shows, puppets, masks, music, and picture storytelling, they present events preceding the final day of the last prison, and the movement which made abolition a reality.
Events
Papel Machete: On the Eve of Abolition, Work-in-Progress
September 30–October 2, 2022
Cara Mía Theatre
Dallas, TX